Oldham unveils £20m new stadium plan
OLDHAM Athletic Football Club and the town council have unveiled regeneration plans for a new £20m football stadium development and community facilities at a 30-acre site in Failsworth.
The scheme – which goes before the council this evening – would involve the League One football club leave its long-time home at Boundary Park for a new 12,000 capacity home off Broadway.
Club officials have been working in partnership for several weeks after the economic downturn forced the club to shelve plans to redevelop Boundary Park.
Oldham Athletic is now close to concluding a deal to buy the Lancaster Club from BAE Systems The site would then be twinned with an adjacent area of council-owned land located to the north – subject to this scheme receiving detailed planning consent.
The Latics plan to sell Boundary Park home with most of the site likely to be purchased by a private developer of small family homes.
Talks are ongoing with the Pennine Acute Trust, which runs the Royal Oldham Hospital, which could see ‘key workers’ homes created on the current car park on Sheepfoot Lane.
The capital raised would then be used to fund the new development.
Howard Sykes, Council Leader, said: “A forward-looking Oldham needs a successful professional football club with 21st century facilities and that is the vision this scheme is designed to deliver.”
“Oldham Athletic in its present state is haemorrhaging money in a crumbling stadium and is not financially viable in the long-term. The club’s owners have long sought a solution and we were happy to work with them when they approached us with this innovative plan.
“There’s still a long way to go but the beauty of this scheme is that it could be the catalyst to regenerate two areas that badly need it – namely, the Lancaster club area of Failsworth, and the Boundary Park site – creating new jobs and investment opportunities.
Simon Corney, Oldham Athletic’s managing director and co-owner, said: “Since buying the club more than six years ago we have toiled to deliver a development that finally gives the club and its’ fans the facilities it so desperately lacks.
“We haven’t taken the decision to leave Boundary Park lightly – it was our preferred option to redevelop it – but the credit crunch means the land value and market conditions have diminished to an extent which makes that scheme no longer economically viable.
“In its current state Oldham Athletic is dying. Our revenue fell 20% again last year and we’re now attracting attendances on a par with many League Two clubs.
“This new vision gives us an opportunity to provide a facility that will create new revenue streams to make the club financially viable and self-sustaining, whilst also giving supporters a superior matchday experience.”
